Mandara (Kuśa Dvīpa)
Mandara
Mandara has other meanings too: see all meanings of Mandara.
Mandara is a mountain of Kuśa-dvīpa, one of the seven dvīpas of the earth. It is the last of the seven varsha mountains (varsha-parvatas) of that dvīpa, named in the Brahma Purāṇa where Lomaharshaṇa describes to the munis the dvīpas beyond Jambūdvīpa. It is a different mountain from the great Mandara that stands on the east of Meru.
In Kuśa-dvīpa
The varshas of Kuśa-dvīpa bear the names of the sons of King Jyotishmān: Udbhida, Veṇumān, Svairatha, Randhana, Dhṛti, Prabhākara and Kapila. There, together with humans, live daityas, dānavas, devas, gandharvas, yakshas and kiṃpurushas. The four varṇas, each devoted to its own dharma, are the Damas (brāhmaṇas), the Śushmiṇas (kshatriyas), the Snehas (vaiśyas) and the Māndahas (śūdras). The deity they worship is Janārdana in the form of Parabrahma; by their yajñas to him they exhaust the fruit of their former puṇya, desiring only mukti.
The seven varsha mountains of Kuśa-dvīpa are Vidruma, Hemaśaila, Dyutimān, Pushṭimān, Kuśeśaya, Hari and Mandara. Its rivers are Dhūtapāpā, Śivā, Pavitrā, Sammati, Vidyudambhas, Mahī and others, and thousands of small streams there remove every pāpa. In the middle of the dvīpa stands a great clump of kuśa grass, and from it the dvīpa takes its name. Beyond it lies the ocean of ghee, surrounded by Krauñca-dvīpa.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20